Sunday, March 27, 2011

Yesterday morning I went to check out a bit of coastline not far from the house that might have some potential for bouldering. The rock is mostly choss but some of the low down stuff has been washed by the waves into nice smooth rock similar to that of Portrane. I arrived at low tide and scrambled down to a small pebble cove with a cave at the back. The far walls were high cliff, I climbed down a shallow slab to the lip, the pebble beach was around 6feet below however the lip was very undercut. I stood there pondering if it was wise to jump down, my concern being getting back out. Suddenly my camera fell out of my pocket onto the beach and without any though I jumped down after it.

Soon as I landed I realised I was stuck. The walls overhung loads and were very smooth. The easiest spot to get back up was this steep and smooth runnel but it would be about 6c with rock shoes. I tried to build a platform out of stones and sand but it was never going to work. I wasn't panicking but was a little frantic. Tide was coming in a good rate so the only option was the swim. It wasn't far only about 10m to a ledge which I though I could get up on.

So I took the clothes off threw then up onto the ledge, I kept my shoes on for grip, my jocks for decency and my dryflow for warmt. The water was cold so I went in up to the waist and then came out and jumped around then got in and did the swim no problem. There was a little chop -3foot - so it was just a matter and timing when to go for the ledge.

Didn't feel cold when I got to the ledge, must of been the adrenaline as the water would of been 8degrees at the most. So it all turned out fine in the end but it could of been serious if the sea had been bigger or I had to swim a lot further to get out.

It was so stupid to jump in, I could of easily got the camera out using the strap from my pad.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Here is the second part of Pierre's research for his article about bouldering in Ireland. This time Pierre puts some questions to Michael Duffy.

Michael Duffy is a talented young architect, photographer and climber.Pierre Fuentes, who's preparing an article on the recent developments of Irish bouldering for Grimper asked him a few questions.

1. Your Age? 282. Are you a true Dub (by mother and father at least)? Scanda jacket, air max, Temple Theatre.3. What do you consider to be your first climbing achievement? Abseiling The Ghost slab.4. How did you like climbing with Ron and Howard? Do you consider them as your first guides or were there any other before / after, that have been more important to you? I was very lucky to have started climbing when I did. I was 12 and Ron and Wally had just built the board in Church Avenue. All my heroes trained or had climbed there, Ron, Howard, Donnie, Grimer, even John Dunne had a problem on that board. Church Avenue and its climbers played a major role in Irish climbing and to be taken under the wing of so many great climbers was a privilege. Ron blared out Rage against the Machine and trained us all up. He taught me everything he knew, took me on trips and sorted me out. I owe him everything for that, and my friends then are my family now. That was an exiting and inspirational generation to grow up in. 5. What is the toughest ideological discussion on climbing ethos that you can remember, and with who? With myself. Bolting. 6. Did you ever have to pick a side between bouldering and sport, or between Bouldering and trad?Ireland has always been trad. High quality trad. Which is great if you’re a trad climber. But if you wanted anything else you had to move away. As soon as you climbed E6 you left. Bolting was out of the question and bouldering just didn’t exist. Of course the routes and boulders existed, but the mindset didn’t. Bouldering only really started to develop in the late 90’s and sport more recently in the last 5 years so Ireland’s a late starter but things are moving well now, people are training and its all very exciting. People have loads they can go at now and hopefully they stay. 7. Are you still on the dole and if yes, for how long as it been going on? If no, how do you manage? Do your kids climbing classes suffice?It’s a bit like being on parole and your not allowed to leave the country without permission. And getting paid a week what you used to get paid a day isn’t very glamorous. But that said were still lucky to have a decent welfare system here and I’m not complaining. When we graduated a couple of years ago half my class ended up signing on, the other half emigrated. Jen and me just had a little boy last year so I’m happily unemployed at the moment, lots of parenting with the odd bit of work here and there. The kids’ coaching is voluntary. It’s been 10 years of study and lots of work, too much work and now it’s no work, baby boy and climbing so I’m happy out. Things will pick up again unfortunately.8. Have you finished your architecture studies and when? 1 year left to fully qualify need a job to do it, thousands of us in the same boat it’s a mess.9. What’s your plan for the future, professionally? In 10 years to have a big studio in Dublin working with my friends who will have all moved back by then.10. Do you think the recession has affected your climbing (obviously it has but, positively or negatively or both and how?) I’ll give you a tip, I think that without the recession, Wonderland would still be the Big Squeeze but correct me if I’m wrong. Less work has its ups and downs. Having more time doesn’t necessarily mean more climbing, especially when there’s babies involved, when you’ve less time you try harder and when you’ve too much you become complacent so there’s a balance. When work dried up it was an opportunity to explore and find lines, I wanted to start climbing as well as I could and the only way to do that was to develop, and that takes a life time compared to going out and repeating stuff. 11. Your favourite ticks :

Trad : Right wall, Dinas Cromlech. Thought I was dead, great line, great setting.

Sport : Chomolungma E6, Dalkey Quarry, 3rd ascent at 14. This would have been considered a safe pegged sport route at the time (fr7a+) but the line is getting destroyed now because the pegs are falling out and getting replaced making it dangerous to climb and chipping lumps out of the rock. This is destroying what is arguably one of the best and most unknown lines in the country. It’s a strong and rare contender for retro bolting, 2 bolts would do it, and in a man made quarry, conserving a fine line as it was originally intended as opposed to damaging it further.

Other : Beating my heroes in the IBL’s.

12. Were you stuck on a plateau before building the Co-Op? Or did it not change your climbing abilities?

I was starting to lose interest. I couldn’t see how to continue climbing here. A good facility was desperately needed in general, but personally I needed somewhere to train for projects.

13. Do you think you have been able to establish the recent lines because the Co-Op gave you the possibility to raise the general level of the Dublin bouldering community, and therefore to develop a proper motivated team?

Motivation. The more of it the better. And cohesion. The Irish scene has always gone from strength to strength but at a slow pace and with small circles of friends scattered everywhere. In a wet and wild country you could argue that an overall scene and its standards only reflect the quality of its indoor facilities. So in Dublin when it rained everyone would split up or head back to home boards. By the time we built the Co-Op Church Avenue was in a skip and UCD was crap, so a new board seemed like a good idea. And now there are 3 of them; there are people training, people are starting to get to know each other more, people are out a lot more together and people are motivated. And naturally everyone starts to get better when they’re climbing together, so I suppose the general level is rising, both North and South. It’s weird, you don’t know people now, you used to recognize everyone. A team? I’m pretty anti-social.

14. Any problems with the Co-Op recently? I mean, can I say long life to the Co-Op?

Hopefully. Until a bad ass bouldering centre comes along and gobbles them up. But then another board will come along. There’ll always be boards.

15. Do you honestly think there is anyone in Dublin capable of climbing at your level? And in Ireland?

There has been for years and I’d imagine there are more people we don’t know of yet. That’s the problem, so many of the good climbers left Ireland. Either you left, stayed and developed or trained till you got bored and stopped. Now with a good stock of lines to go at and the secret mutants who stayed and kept training and all the new kids coming into the sport I’d say your gonna see some pretty freaky shit.

First Ascents (best of), including these over 200 first ascents around Ireland:

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

At the moment I'm trying to use The Scalp as my personal outdoor training area. I'm not the only one getting out there judging by all the chalk. My current goal is Gen Tilley. I have a good sequence from the stand start but getting there from the sitter is a different story. More work to do.

In one of many guide discussion with Diarmuid - he was my main sounding board, so kudoes to him - he said that the contents (I think we where talking about the Glendo circuits) of the guide would become definitive. It's was an intimidating concept and something I shrugged off.

In between burns on Gen Tilley, I wondered what grade was ie. what I had put in the guide. So I took it out of my bag and had a look 6b+ apparently. Ouch. What washed around my mind then was this funny feeling that that was the grade. For better or worse it was set in stone - pardon the pun. Since I got the book I have looked through it very little, after all I poured over every little detail for a year. The guy who wrote it is gone (I won't say dead that just sounds too dramatic) and in his place is this punter who uses the guide just like everyone else.